Chapter 2

Review of Related LiteratureForeign LiteratureThe major curricular reform will occur in an

attempt to make schools more flexibleand responsive to individual student needs. Nearly

one-third of the elementary andj uni or hi gh curri cul a wi l l be el i m i nat ed wi t h

deep cut s i n al l m aj or subj ect s. Thereplacement classroom activity will be a new

endeavour entitled Integrated Studies thatwill have few guidelines and no accompanying

textbooks. The goal of Integrated Studiesis to provide students and teachers the freedom

to study whatever interests themwhether the topic is religion, the environment, or

foreign affairs. Some elementaryschools that were selected as pilot sites for Integrated

Studies in (2001) experimentedwith teaching English during this time block.In international

mathematics tests, Japanese students rank either at or near thetop year after year. Recent

statistics indicate that well over 95 percent of Japanese areliterate, which is particularly

impressive since the Japanese language is one of theworld's most difficult languages

to read and write. Over 95 percent of Japanese alsograduat e from hi gh school

com pared to 88 percent of Am eri can st udents. S om eJapanese education

specialists estimate that the average Japanese high schoolgraduate has attained about

the same level of education as the average American aftert wo ye a rs of col l ege. J apanes e

em pl o ye es of l ar ge com pani es and gove rnm ent ministries rank among the well-

educated workers on earth. The greatest educational

achievement is the high-quality basic education youngest people receive by the timethey

complete high school. (Ellington, Lucien, 2001)T h e g o a l s o f e d u c a t i o n t o t e a c h b a s i c

s k i l l s s u c h a s r e a d i n g, w r i t i n g a n d mathematics, International Educational Initiatives

affiliated schools and programs, seekto equip their students with the moral and intellectual

tools that will assist in changing aworld of conflict into one in which the principles

of harmony and cooperation areparamount. Some of the goals that guide the curriculum

are to develop critical thinkings k i l l s a n d c o o p e r a t i v e s t r a t e g i e s t o h e l p t r a i n

p a r t i c i p a n t s i n t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f consultation so that they will be enabled to

analyze their environment and use thisknowledge to develop solutions to the challenges

they identify, to provide a cooperativestructure of education where individual expression of

ideas and opinions has its properplace to instill in the students ethical global, cultural and

human values to awaken theindividual’s intellectual, emotional, and moral capacities and train

his/her will. (Johnson2011)Teachers must be aware of the realities of the “e-world”, in

which increasingaccess to information requires a wide intercultural understanding to meet

the needs ofthe students today. The ability to interpret and absorb current issues into

classroomteaching requires an understanding of historical, cultural, political and

economicc o n t e x t s , a n d a n a w a r e n e s s o f a v a i l a b l e t e a c h i n g r e s o u r c e s .

W i t h a b r o a d e r und e rst andi ng, t he U.S . Depart m ent of Edu c at i on awards

funds for an arr a y o f